Andy Warhol was a famous, openly gay artist, one of the first of his kind. He was known for his soup can paintings and images of Marilyn Monroe. Andy was also a filmmaker and producer, and his movie Chelsea was part of the reason he came to the limelight. However, where was the pop art pioneer buried after his death?
Andy Warhol is buried in St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery, Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, United States.
But before he died, were there any mysterious circumstances surrounding his death? Plus, what is his graveyard like? Here’s all we know about Andy Warhol’s death and burial.
How did Andy Warhol die?
When motivational speakers advise us to face our fears, it’s because they understand the implications of not doing so. Andy Warhol was brave in every sense of the word because he was one of the frontrunners of gay rights in the United States at a point when people were mostly homophobic.
However, he had an intense fear of hospitals due to PTSD from being shot at an earlier time. So he developed gallbladder cancer and refused to go to the hospital because he was scared of death.
He faced his fears and got surgery at some point, but it was too late. The surgery was unsuccessful, and he died from a cardiac arrest due to complications.
Would he still be living if he had gotten the surgery early? We can’t say, but he lived a life that served as a model for others.
Who tried to assassinate Andy Warhol?
Jose Diaz, who runs the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, says that when the artist was shot, Andy Warhol was “easily one of the best-known and most popular artists working in America.”
During the 1950s, Warhol was a successful commercial artist. His pop art paintings of Campbell’s soup cans, Coca-Cola bottles, and other commercial products made him a household name worldwide.
But being popular comes with a lot of enemies. Some are actually fans who turn into enemies, and it was a person in this category that tried to kill Andy Warhol.
Valerie Solanas was a radical feminist writer and activist who played a small role in The Factory (Andy’s gallery). Valerie started an organization called the Society for Cutting Up Men (SCUM), of which she was the only member. She wrote a play in 1967, which Andy paid her $25 for, even if it was a huge fail.
However, the SCUM Manifesto, which Solanas wrote between 1965 and 1967, was her best work. It pictured a world without men and called on “civic-minded, responsible, thrill-seeking women” to “topple the government, get rid of money, automate everything, and get rid of the male sex.”
She shared the idea with Andy, who didn’t seem to have an issue with it. But for some reason, she started feeling like he wanted to steal her work, even if he had done nothing to trigger such thoughts. He misplaced the manuscript, but she believed that it was a lie, and all she could think of was killing him.
Solanas went to Warhol’s new office at 33 Union Square West on June 3, 1968. Earlier that year, Warhol had moved The Factory to an upscale place. She shot Warhol and left the building.
Two bullets from Solanas’ gun went through Warhol’s stomach, liver, spleen, esophagus, and both lungs. The doctors proclaimed him dead, but he seemed to be resilient.
They were able to revive Warhol, but he had to stay in the hospital for two months. Andy Warhol also had to wear a surgical corset to keep his organs in place for the rest of his life.
Why is there a webcam on Andy Warhol’s grave?
On August 6 every year, Andy Warhol’s fans go to his grave and pay homage to him. This move was approved by Andy Warhol’s museum and foundation. So, they also decided to connect a camera to his burial site in Pittsburgh.
According to one of the employees, Andy would feel good knowing that he’s always plugged in and connected to the world.
It doesn’t need a paranormal meaning because it’s simply a form of respect for the late artist.
When did Andy Warhol die?
Andy Warhol died from cardiac arrest after an unsuccessful surgery, on the 6th of August, 1987.
After suffering gunshot wounds from a failed assassination attempt, he lived with surgical corsets all his life. However, he had gallbladder cancer and in a bid to cure it, the world lost one of its greatest artists.